1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to travel headrest pillows.
2. Description of Prior Art
Travelers have used a wide variety of pillows on trains, buses, airplanes, and cars to permit the individual to sleep while traveling. Prior travel pillows have tended to be flawed in terms of lacking satisfactory attention to ergonomic design, requiring permanent attachment to the seat or fitting around the neck of the individual like a collar to provide a stationary support for the head. Also, the bulk of inventions have employed pillow cushion supports on both sides of the user's head, which have either prevented proper support and/or been too bulky when in their preferred embodiments.
The real test of a device's ergonomics is its ability to operate optimally against any surface; this is where my invention excels, being highly effective even when used against a wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,578 to Sweeney et al., June 1997 discloses a travel pillow described for use with seats that provide an accommodating headrest. This pillow cushions the user's neck and head in a cavity and thus provides support against `head-rolling` and the sudden `head-drooping` which usually results when a traveler attempts to sleep while sitting in a generally upright position. However, the combination of a single sided conical-like, hemispherical-like, spherical-like or wedge-like pillow cushion and the flexible material covering/filling used in my invention provides greater support and comfort for the user's head, without clamping it in place but still removing the majority of head roll. My design when represented in its preferred embodiment results in a more realistic `pillow feel`. Also, in my invention, the use of a support employing a cross-sectional contour that is complementary to the shape formed by the back of the user's neck, head and shoulder allows them to experience full neck support whilst the pillow cushion is held securely in place. The user's head nestles in the junction of the support and the pillow cushion without restricting movement and without the requirement of two pillow sections to either side. Amongst other benefits, this reduces the size of my invention compared with U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,578 and others.
Neck engaging pillows such as illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,129,705; 4,776,049; 4,738,488; 4,617,691; 4,345,347; 4,285,081; 2,522,120; 2,336,707; 941,043; and 673,372 employ a stationary support for the head by providing a neck engaging yoke. These devices can prevent the neck and the head from free movement and force the head forward which makes them uncomfortable and makes sleep difficult. In addition, this shape does not allow the user's head to be supported at a comfortable angle when the head moves to one side or up and down, as part of the natural sleep pattern. These devices can hence be uncomfortable and awkward, often causing neck strain and resulting in the user waking up.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,046,205; 5,025,518; 4,768,246; and 3,848,281 are amongst a class of device which comprise apertured pillows that are adapted to fit the back of the head of an individual in which the head is positioned within the aperture. This design results in hair tugging and consequent sleep disturbance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,690 to McNeil, Dec. 5, 1995 is a slightly evolved example. It discloses a travel pillow in the form of a torus which is inflated and which has an integral bottom backing member adapted to coact with the seat back of a chair in a plane, train, bus, or automobile. This is inferior to my invention as a result of the fact that the torus forces the head to come to rest in a more obtuse angle from the vertical than my invention, causing interruption to sleep and neck strain. Also, the design of most air-filled (only) pillows is such that even if they provide support for the user's head in their preferred embodiment, use of other more flexible fillings can cause the head engaging pillow sections to buckle, with the result that user's head drops to an uncomfortable position. Since many of the materials used to fill my invention (e.g. cotton or cotton/air mix) are more flexible, it provides superior comfort and a `pillow feel` that promotes better sleep than inventions such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,690. The benefits mentioned will not substitute, but be in addition to the benefits mentioned in Pat. No. 5,471,690 (e.g. freer movement, lack of hair trapping etc)
Neck or head clamping devices are also used to promote sleep while traveling. Such devices are illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,582,571; 2,856,366; 4,114,948; 4,738,488 and 5,205,611. The subsequent restriction of the head and neck can wake up the individual when the head moves during the sleep.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,042,278 and 4,440,443 engage the head loosely since the lateral supports are widely spaced apart. These devices are less effective at promoting sleep as they permit too much head movement.
Another version uses attachment to the seat itself. The most recent example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,177 to Jung, Jan. 19, 1999, discloses an adjustable travel pillow unit having a pillow outer shell, a support frame within the shell and an adjustment mechanism. The mechanism allows an arm to extend or retract in alignment with a plane and is movable itself in alignment with a plane perpendicular to the first mentioned plane. However, this differs strongly from my invention as it seeks to attach a pillow to the seat to allow adjustment through a framework mechanism. My invention, on the other hand, has a number of advantages--it does not need to be attached to the seat, saving time and making it safer to use on aircraft. It can also be fitted into a far smaller/lighter packaging as it has no framework (e.g. if air filled, my invention packs flat and if cotton filled, it can be rolled and stored in a small package, re-gaining it's shape upon removal).